


Just an Ordinary Guy

by RKG



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: ladrien
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-11-27
Updated: 2017-11-27
Packaged: 2019-02-02 11:54:24
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,306
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12726162
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RKG/pseuds/RKG
Summary: Ladybug, official protector of Paris, had just been saved by... an ordinary citizen. A high profile ordinary citizen, but an ordinary citizen nonetheless. [Alternate Origin Story!] [TRIGGER WARNING! The violence therein is not graphic, the story still has a mentions of guns and gun violence.]





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I decided to play with Cat Noir's origin story. Don't get me wrong, I love the original origin story but... eh, what if, yano? :D Also, consider these guys aged up a bit in this one. Also.. I couldn't stand for Gabriel to be a dick in this one. Sorry. :P Also I meant to post this way earlier, but I was reluctant due to the content. :/

It was a photo opportunity.

On that particular day, it was a day in which the citizens could meet their favorite heroine and take pictures with her. It was a rare day, because Ladybug liked doing her job and keeping a low profile normally, but when a bunch of children at the local children's hospital had given her 'baby doll eyes' the last time she had saved them from an Akuma, that was all she needed to come back and let them be photographed with her.

Of course they weren't they only ones that wanted in on the action. 

Their parents, plus a lot of grateful, previous akuma victims, had shown up, not to mention the press.

...And certain other, high profile members of society.

"Can I have your autograph, milady?" asked a smiling voice.

Ladybug was taken aback when the famous model, Adrien Agreste, came up and humbly asked for her autograph on a napkin.

"Of course!" she smiled back, signing her name to the Bistro napkin.

No one realized that in the audience lurked an evil that Ladybug couldn't fight... the evil of human will. 

It all happened so quickly, shots rang out, people began screaming, one in particular shouted "KILL THE BUG!"

"NO!"

Before Ladybug could react, Adrien had leapt in front of her. She screamed in horror as more shots rang out, two from the shooter, the rest from the guards on duty. The shooter was quickly dealt with, but Adrien...

She cradled him in her arms as the stain on his shirt grew.

"And they say I'm the superhero..." she said tearfully, looking into his beautiful green eyes.

"I couldn't let him hurt you..." he smiled at her, it was a beautiful, angelic smile, the kind people got right before they died.

She heard ambulance sirens in the distance.

"Hang on, help is on the way!" she pleaded. "Please don't die..."

"It was just one measly bullet, milady." he joked, winking at her.

"That's one too many!" 

"Give us room!" ordered the paramedics, Ladybug immediately got back and let them get to work. She felt sick inside. That should have been her, not some innocent bystander citizen. She would talk to the police, then she would go with Adrien to the hospital. It was the least she could do.

~*~*~*~

Of course they wouldn't let her back with him, she wasn't next of kin. 

But later that night, she snuck into his room. 

She gazed at him, physical beauty aside, this boy had the soul of a champion.

She kissed his forehead. "Thank you."

She left an autographed photo on his bedside table. " _To my hero, love, Ladybug_."

~*~*~*~

Gabriel Agreste was in Milan in the middle of a meeting when he found out the news about his son.

He immediately flew home and was greeted at the airport by a flock of reporters.

"Mr. Agreste will appreciate you giving him his privacy at a time like this." said Natalie in a business-like tone. Most of the reporters backed off, there were a couple that he had to stare down, but it was pretty clear soon that Gabriel was not up for commentary. He barreled into the hospital and directly to his son's room. First, he was going to make sure he was okay, then, there would be words.

~*~*~*~

When Adrien awoke, the world was hazy.

Of course the first person he saw was his Father's assistant. As cold as Natalie could be at times, this time she was positively maternal, fussing over him. He expected she was trying to make up for the thunderous mess his Father was about to be.

"Nat... how is he?"

"Worried sick."

"I didn't mean to worry him, it just sort of... happened."

Natalie shook her head. 

"What's the damage?"

"The doctors are talking to your Father, they said they would be in to talk to you in a bit."

"Alright." sighed Adrien, lying back. He wasn't in any pain in particular, but he was pretty sure whatever was in his IV was responsible for that.

It was then that he noticed the autographed picture on the bedside table, he smiled as he read it. "I'm her hero, huh?" he said dreamily. "That's... cool."

Suddenly the door burst open, his Dad had really epic timing.

"Hi, Dad..." Adrien faltered.

Gabriel had a lot of venom saved up for his son, but the second he saw him with his eyes open, it all died in his throat. The only thing he could do was sit limply besides his bed and put his arms around him.

"I thought I lost you." said his Father, voice husky with emotion.

"I...I-I'm okay, right?" asked Adrien.

It was then that one of the Doctors stepped forward.

"Adrien, what you did was very brave." said the doctor. "But you have some damage that's going to take awhile to heal."

"But... it'll heal, right?"

"Yes, but it could take awhile. You're not going to be able to return to your line of work for awhile. There's going to be months of rehab and treatment." 

"But, I'm not in any pain!"

"That.. can also be a bad thing. Sometimes bullets can damage nerves. We managed to remove it all, but--"

"But what?!" Adrien was getting angry now. This was hardly fair, he had saved the life of Ladybug! How could he be laid up like this?

"There's a chance you may not walk again."

"NO!" he cried.

Gabriel hung his head. "Is there anything we can do?"

"Yes, if we start soon, there is a chance we can salvage his ability to move."

"I know I can move! I'll prove it!" Adrien threw off the covers and managed to get halfway off the bed before his legs betrayed him. That was when he felt the pain and doubled over.

"Lie back, Adrien!" ordered his Father.

After a few moments the nurses got him situated again. The doctor only shook his head. "Adrien, you're just going to make things worse."

"How the hell is this fair?!"

"It's not." said the doctor sadly. "But we'll do everything we can in order to fix this."

When the doctor was out of the room, Adrien looked away from his Dad.

"Go ahead, say it. You're disappointed in me. I can just hear it."

His Father only shook his head. "It's not you I'm disappointed in... it's humanity itself."

~*~*~*~

Later that night, Adrien awoke to a small, asian doctor standing at the foot of his bed with a clipboard.

"Hi?"

"Hello, Adrien, nice to see you in waking hours."

"You call 2AM waking hours?"

"It is for me. I am Dr. Fu." 

"N-Nice to meet you."

"Did the previous doctor tell you of your condition?"

"Yeah, if you're here to give me more bad news--"

"On the contrary, my friend." said Dr. Fu. " You must forgive my colleague, he is not well-acquainted with alternative medicine."

"Alternative medicine... what are you saying?"

"What if I said that there was a way to get you back on your feet?"

"I'd say I'm game." said Adrien.

"There is a condition to this treatment. It will make you strong, it will give you back the strength in your back and legs, but you must accept the mission first."

"What mission?"

"You already completed phase one." said Dr. Fu. 

"I'm listening."

"You protected Ladybug without hesitation. You jumped in front of her without regard to your own life, limb, or safety, she needs someone like you."

So now he was charged with protecting a superhero?

"But... I can't do it like _this_."

"You won't have to." Master Fu placed a ring in his hand. "This will transform you into what you need to be to protect our protector."

Anything to get out of this bed, to go home, anything to not have to go through months and months of rehab.

"What do I need to do?"


	2. Blue eyes crying

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ladybug is plagued with guilt. Adrien has his first 'physical therapy' session.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one will be angsty AF because right now I'm feeling angsty AF. Thanks you guys for the kind words on the previous chapter!! :) I was so worried!

Marinette had cried steadily since the day of the incident.

Of course, she couldn't visit him in her civillian form so she swung by nightly, just to observe him, mostly sleeping, but there were some nights in which he'd be talking to a stern-looking brunette woman with glasses, or a white-haired man with a frightening grimace. She assumed the latter must have been his father, considering the way he yelled at a nurse late one night when she got Adrien's dessert order wrong. She could only imagine the venom he had stored up for her.

" _Some superhero you are_." came the sneering voice she imagined he had. " _You couldn't protect my son from a bullet, you aren't worthy of the name_!"

Thankfully, no Akumas had happened this week. The only time she had transformed was to go visit her new hero.

"It wasn't your fault, Marinette." assured Tikki.

"It feels like it might as well have been." sobbed Marinette miserably. 

"No superhero can control a human being's actions." said Tikki reasonably. "Everyone has their own free will they must follow. Some people use it for good, some people use it for bad, it all depends on the person, Marinette." 

"I know that, but because of me, he's laid up, possibly forever."

"It was his choice to jump in front of you, Marinette."

"He didn't ask for this, though! He didn't ask to..."

"Marinette, no one asks for this."

Tikki flew into her bag as Alya came into view. Marinette tried her best to put on a brave face. Of course Alya knew she was upset, but she didn't know the full details why. All she knew was, Marinette had witnessed the shooting and that her favorite model might never work again. More was the pity.

"Hey girl... what's wrong?"

"Oh... I just... can't get it out of my head, Alya." she sobbed.

"That's normal, Mari..." said Alya gently, hugging her friend. "It's only been a few days." 

"I-It's just... it makes no sense!"

"Something like that never does."

"A-And he was so brave, and h-had everything left to live for--"

"He's not dead yet, girl! The news said he's still hanging on! No one's seen Ladybug around however."

"Maybe she needs to lay low for awhile." said Marinette glumly. 

"Well, it's not like there's been any Akumas around either, so that could be it."

Marinette shrugged. "Maybe." 

"They say he'll possibly make a full recovery, it'll just take awhile." said Alya.

"Possibly? Wait, there's a possibility he won't?"

"Slim chance, but that's only if he doesn't go through a bunch of physical therapy first. But hey, it's Adrien Agreste, of course he'll do it. I'm sure he wants to be back up and on his feet as much as his public wants him to."

"I hope so..." she sniffled.

"And hey, maybe I could get you an autograph of his?"

Marinette blinked.

"How would you do that?"

"Girl, members of the press have connections!"

Marinette gave a soft smile. That wasn't exactly what she wanted, but she appreciated the effort.

~*~*~*~

"So all I have to say is 'claws out', and I'm transformed?"

Doctor Fu shook his head.

"You have to summon Plagg first."

"Oh, alright. Wait, who's Plagg?"

Suddenly a tiny black, cat-like creature hovered out of one of the Doctor's pockets, he was snacking on a piece of rather smelly cheese.

"Is this the kid you were telling me about?" he asked, mouth full of cheese.

"Yes, Plagg. This is your new holder."

"Nice to meet you, kid." 

"What _is_ he?" marveled Adrien.

"He's called a Kwami, it's a kind of fairy. He lends you his powers and strength for awhile, and it aids your body's natural healing abilities."

"But he's so tiny... won't that be a problem?"

"HEY! Dynomite comes in small packages too, kid! It only takes one stick to crash half a building!"

Adrien held up his hands in surrender. "Hey, whoa, no offense!"

Plagg crossed his tiny arms, floating above Adrien in contempt.

"Kwamis are exceptionally powerful creatures. It will take a few times of transforming for you to fully benefit from his powers, but after the third time, you should be good to go." 

"Really? Only 3?"

"More or less, yes."

"Can we do it now?"

"Let me eat first, kid!" the kwami stuffed the rest of the cheese in his mouth.

"Alright." grumbled Adrien.

"It's essential that Plagg eats before and after a transformation." said Doctor Fu. "Kwamis are powerful, but they require their favorite foods to keep up their strength. Plagg's here is camembert."

"Ewwww..." grimaced Adrien. "The stinky cheese?"

"Yes. Usually with Plagg, the stinkier the better."

"Um, I'm a model.. is this gonna affect the way I smell?"

"No." chuckled Doctor Fu. "Not at all, unless Plagg hides cheese in your pockets, then it might pose a problem."

"Noted. Now can we?"

"Geeze kid, you're rarin' to go. Alright."

"Plagg, CLAWS OUT!"

The little Kwami swirled into the ring, suddenly, a rush of feeling returned to the lower half of Adrien's body. He could feel pain!

"AUGH!"

"Yes, yes it will be painful the first time, the nerves have to knit back together."

Even though it hurt, he could move. Although he wasn't too coordinated.

"Don't try anything strenuous yet, lie back, let the Kwami's strength heal you. You are in no rush."

" _Says you_." thought Adrien.

" _It's okay kid, I see where the problem is_." said Plagg's voice inside his head. " _It'll take me a few but I can repair it. You'll be good as new_."

" _Good_." Adrien shot back at him. 

While he lay back and waited on the Kwami, Dr. Fu asked him. "Would you like to see your transformation?"

"Sure."

The doctor handed him a small mirror. Peering into it, Adrien saw that he was now covered in black leather and had... cat ears?

"So what superhero am I?"

"You are Chat Noir."

"Cool."


End file.
